ESPN

Here are this week’s Big 12 power rankings:

1. Missouri: The Tigers have played the two toughest teams in the league (Kansas and Baylor) and defeated them both. Guard Marcus Denmon had made just five of his previous 31 attempts from 3-point range before going 6-for-9 from beyond the arc in Saturday’s win against Kansas.

2. Kansas: The Jayhawks blew an eight-point lead with just more than 2 minutes remaining in Saturday’s loss at Missouri, but with Baylor up next on Wednesday, there’s no time to mope about the loss. Kansas is 16-2 all-time against the Bears, who it defeated by 18 points last month at Allen Fieldhouse.

3. Baylor: The Bears’ Big 12 title hopes depend largely on what happens this week. Baylor hosts Kansas on Wednesday and travels to Missouri Saturday. Baylor’s only two losses are against those two teams. The Bears' offense looked sloppy and disorganized in last week’s victories over Texas A&M (63-60) and Oklahoma State (64-60).

4. Iowa State: The Cyclones won at Oklahoma Saturday despite getting just three points from leading scorer Royce White. Fred Hoiberg's squad has won five of its past six games overall and could continue that streak this week against Texas A&M and Oklahoma State.

5. Kansas State: The Wildcats got back on the winning track by defeating Texas A&M Saturday at home. And the good times should continue when Kansas State hosts Texas Tech on Tuesday. Leading scorer Rodney McGruder has made just four of his previous 20 3-point attempts.

6. Texas: Rick Barnes’ squad hasn’t caught many breaks in conference play. Texas’ six league losses have come by an average of five points. The Longhorns had lost five of their previous six games before defeating Texas Tech on Saturday. Monday’s road game against a beat up Texas A&M squad is winnable.

7. Texas A&M: The Aggies almost defeated Baylor without Khris Middleton and Dash Harris on Wednesday, and they led Kansas State at halftime before falling 64-53 Saturday in Manhattan. Considering all of the injuries, Texas A&M deserves credit for competing as well as it has.

8. Oklahoma: The Sooners have dropped four of their previous five games heading into Monday’s contest against Missouri. All of a sudden the team that got off to a 9-1 start is 3-7 in league play. Steven Pledger and Andrew Fitzgerald are averaging a combined 31.1 points.

9. Oklahoma State: Three weeks after losing to them by 41 points, Oklahoma State nearly upset the Baylor Bears before falling 64-60 Saturday in Stillwater. Freshman Brian Williams had 23 points in the loss. On Tuesday, Oklahoma State hosts the same Iowa State squad that it lost to on a buzzer-beater Jan. 18 in Ames.

10. Texas Tech: Last week’s home game against Oklahoma State appeared to be the Red Raiders’ best chance of picking up a Big 12 win. Instead, Billy Gillispie’s team was throttled 80-63. Jordan Tolbert leads Texas Tech in scoring with 11.9 points per contest. But he’s averaging just 6.3 points in his past three games.

Not much has changed in this week’s Big 12 power rankings. But with each school beginning conference play, next week’s list could look quite a bit different. Be sure to check back.

1. Baylor: The Bears are off to their best start in school history at 13-0, and no one can say they accomplished the feat because of a weak schedule. Baylor touts wins against five top-50 teams, with the most recent triumph coming in a two-point victory Wednesday against Mississippi State. The Bears open Big 12 play Monday against struggling Texas A&M in Waco.

2. Missouri: The Tigers had to come from behind in the final two minutes Friday to beat an Old Dominion team with a 6-7 record. Still, all road wins are big, and the close win against the Monarchs will help the Tigers down the road. Missouri faces a pesky, well-coached Oklahoma squad in Tuesday’s conference opener in Columbia.

3. Kansas State: The Wildcats have won six in a row since an overtime loss to West Virginia on Dec. 8. But tough times could lie ahead. Kansas State opens Big 12 play at Kansas on Wednesday before hosting Missouri and Baylor. Then comes a tough road game at Oklahoma. Does any school in the country have a tougher league-opening stretch than the Wildcats?

4. Kansas: An eighth straight Big 12 title isn’t out of the question -- especially if forward Thomas Robinson continues the dominance he displayed in Saturday’s win over North Dakota (30 points, 21 rebounds). But the Jayhawks’ bench continues to struggle, as Connor Teahan was the only non-starter to score against the Fighting Sioux.

5. Texas: J’Covan Brown is averaging 19 points for a team that got back on the winning track Saturday against Rice. The Longhorns could establish a ton of momentum by beating Iowa State on the road in Wednesday’s Big 12 opener, especially considering they have what should be two home wins after that against Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. A 3-0 start is definitely possible.

6. Oklahoma: The Sooners dropped their second game of the season Thursday when they squandered a 12-point lead with six minutes remaining in a 56-55 loss at Cincinnati. Still, with a 10-2 record, Oklahoma has been the league’s biggest surprise thus far. Mississippi State transfer Romero Osby is averaging 9.1 rebounds for a team that opens Big 12 play Tuesday at Missouri.

7. Iowa State: The Cyclones survived a scare Saturday before pulling off a two-point home win against Mississippi Valley State. But it should be noted that leading scorer Royce White (flu-like symptoms) played just three minutes. Iowa State has been mildly disappointing thus far. The team appears to lack chemistry.

8. Texas A&M: Highly touted freshman Jamal Branch announced last week that he was leaving the team, which certainly wasn’t a good thing for an already struggling program. The Aggies had gone nine straight games without breaking the 70-point barrier before Saturday’s 76-58 win over Arkansas Tech.

9. Oklahoma State: This team is bad. The Cowboys needed double overtime to defeat SMU in Dallas last week before suffering a home loss to Virginia Tech on New Year’s Eve, their second to the Hokies this season. It will be interesting to see what Oklahoma State’s administration decides to do with fourth-year coach Travis Ford if things don’t get better.

10. Texas Tech: The Red Raiders have won four of their past six games and are steadily getting better. They’re playing weak competition, sure. But that’s just what this rebuilding program needs as new coach Billy Gillispie attempts to instill discipline and confidence in his players. Wednesday’s game at Oklahoma State will be interesting.

Billy Gillispie is a basketball coach and a Texan. In other words -- after being fired and arrested and wandering the hoops wilderness for two years -- the man is back in his element at Texas Tech.

ESPN's Andy Katz caught up with the Red Raiders' coach. Here's a snippet:

Billy Gillispie doesn't appear to have changed one bit.

He's a coach. A basketball coach. That's really all he wants to do. That's who he is. And to define him in any other way is probably a mistake.

And now he's back in the Big 12 at Texas Tech, tucked away in Lubbock, where he can grind away and produce a winner in relative obscurity, much like he did when he left Bill Self's staff at Illinois to head up UTEP and Texas A&M before accepting one of the highest profile jobs in the sport at Kentucky.

"I've been lucky,'' said Gillispie, a native of Abilene, Texas. "We've improved the teams and we've won. I'm proud of where we are and what we can achieve at Texas Tech.''

To read more of the story, click here.

Villanova assistant Chris Walker will join Billy Gillispie's staff at Texas Tech in a similar capacity, according to a source.

Walker, 41, played for Rollie Massimino at Villanova from 1988-92. He began his second stint as an assistant at his alma mater in June 2009, under Jay Wright.

The Houston native has served on staffs at Pepperdine, New Mexico, Massachusetts and Amherst. He has also served as head coach of the T-Mac All-Stars, a Houston-based amateur unit.

Gillispie agreed to a five-year contract to coach the Red Raiders in March. He has 140-85 record in seven season as a Division I head coach, which include stops at UTEP, Texas A&M and Kentucky.

Outside the Lines examines Texas Tech's decision to hire Billy Gillispie as its basketball coach.

New Texas Tech head coach Billy Gillispie joins Galloway & Company to chat about the direction of the program, his ability to recruit and more.